Whyte would have been in line for a shot at the WBC heavyweight title if he had beaten Swedish boxer Wallin in their bout later this month
Dillian Whyte’s world heavyweight title eliminator with Otto Wallin has been called off after the British heavyweight suffered a shoulder injury in training.
Whyte was scheduled to face the Swede, who lost a unanimous points decision to Tyson Fury in September last year, for the WBC interim belt on October 30 at the O2 Arena in London.
But the 33-year-old reported he is unfit to fight from his training camp in Portugal after he sustained an apparent shoulder injury. The winner of the WBC eliminator would be mandated to claim the next shot at Fury’s heavyweight title.
Wallin’s promoter Dmitriy Salita insisted the bout should be scheduled to ensure his fighter did not miss out on a possible rematch with Fury with the WBC title at stake.
“It would not be fair to the sport of boxing for Dillian Whyte to have an injury, whatever it is, and as a result of that, to be able to be mandated to fight Fury.
“Otto is ready to go to the UK today. He had a complete training camp and this fight guarantees a lot of attention and it was truly the right eliminator for the fight with Fury.
“The fight has to be rescheduled for a later date and the winner of that fight should fight Tyson Fury. Anything else would be unfair to the sport of boxing, and unfair to Otto Wallin,” Salita told Sky Sports.
When was Dillian Whyte vs Otto Wallin scheduled to take place?
Dillian Whyte was due to face Otto Wallin on Saturday, October 30.
What are their records?
Dillian Whyte
- Total fights 30
- Wins 28
- Wins by KO 19
- Losses 2
- Draws 0
Otto Wallin
- Total fights 23
- Wins 22
- Wins by KO 14
- Losses 1
- Draws 0
Who is on the undercard?
- Chantelle Cameron vs Mary McGee
- Alen Babic vs Eric Molina
- Craig Richards vs Marek Matyja
- Youssef Khoumari vs Jorge Castaneda
- Johnny Fisher vs Alvaro Terrero
- Ellie Scotney vs Eva Cantos
- John Hedges vs Anthony Woolery
When could Whyte fight for the WBC title?
Assuming he beats Wallin – whn he next faces him – then Whyte is set to fight Fury for the WBC heavyweight title. He has been the highest ranked contender for the belt since 2017.
The WBC said Whyte must, finally, get his title shot unless the Fury secures a unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk. That is no longer possible as Usyk is due to fight Anthony Joshua in a rematch next year.
The sanctioning body’s ruling said: “The WBC Board of Governors has reviewed the recent history in the Heavyweight Division.
“Considering the long inactivity in the division due to the pandemic, ongoing legal processes, and Covid-19 infections, the WBC has ruled that the winner of this fight will have 30 days to secure a contract to unify the Heavyweight Division against WBO-IBF-WBA champion Oleksandr Usyk in search of an undisputed champion in the division.
“If no unification bout is secured within that time, the winner of Fury v Wilder 3 must then fight next against the then reigning WBC Interim Heavyweight Champion.”
Why isn’t Tyson Fury fighting Anthony Joshua?
After his defeat to Usyk, Joshua hinted he would trigger a rematch clash in his contract and his promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed it had been activated.
Hearn told DAZN: “He’s got his head back in the game, he’s training now and today we officially triggered the rematch for the Oleksandr Usyk fight which we’ll see early next spring.
“Back in the game and looking for him to become a three-time heavyweight world champion.
“That’s officially triggered now and we’ll sit down with K2 [Usyk’s promoters] to plan the dates for that. I think realistically March is when you’re likely to see the rematch.”